She dies?! If you have not read this piece yet, I apologize for the spoiler. I read both the 1833 edition and the 1832 edition and with each piece I am still shocked by the notion that she dies at the end. All she wanted, all she dreamed of was Camelot:
Her wide eyes fixed on Camelot,
Though the squally eastwind keenly
Blew, with folded arms serenely
By the water stood the queenly
Lady of Shalott (1145).
She is so focused on Camelot; so intent on reaching it. She leaves her whole life behind her and finally musters up the courage to go to Camelot and she dies.
For ere she reach’d upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott (1145).
I just don’t understand why Tennyson needed her to die. I don’t think it is appropriate to say that Lady Shalott broke the boundaries set for her and went to Camelot; and therefore as a consequence or repercussion she dies. I feel like that is just completely uneccesary.
I would prefer to think that Lady Shalott reached her heart’s desire and she just could not take it. The thought and sight of finally reaching Camelot were so overwhelming that her heart just gave out. To me this conveys the message that you should be careful what you wish for, because you may not be able to handle it once you get it?
I would really like to hear some thoughts on this. What do you think was the message of the poem and with that message, was death necessary for Lady Shalott?
Deborah,
ReplyDeleteGood emotional engagement with and response to Tennyson's poem, and I like the way you end it with an invitation to your readers to respond to the problem of the Lady of Shalott's death. I think perhaps she dies because in the mid-1800s death was considered a "poetic" fate or subject. Poe said "the death of a beautiful woman is the most interesting topic for poetry" and I think you can see a similar attraction in many of the poems we have read (although Wordsworth tended to have children die rather than women). Maybe the intent is to provoke an emotional response in the reader, which it certainly seems to have done here for you!